Ask Ali: Deciphering your Emirati colleagues’ dialect

In this week's Ask Ali we learn how to decipher Emirati dialect.

Dear Ali: I know some Arabic and have improved it as I use it with my Emirati colleagues at work, but there are times when they use certain words that I only know from the way they sound. I can't figure out what exactly these mean or if they are words or simply sounds that come as part of the Emirati dialect they use. Words and sounds like "aani" or "shallah", "yarayaal" and also "taeeel omork" and many more. I hear them all the time. Could you please explain what these words or letter sounds mean? RE, Abu Dhabi

Dear RE: What a good observation. Indeed you seem to be going on the right track to adopt the Arabic Emirati dialect because all of these words you've tried your best to type are actually more related to the Emirati dialect – in general many non-Arabic speakers won't be able to pick up these Arabic words in between the English or Arabic conversation because they're used so quickly between words that it's difficult to notice them.

I believe I can understand the words you are describing.

Let me explain. The sound “aani” probably comes from the full word “yaani”. It sounds like “yaa + ni”, which means “meaning” or sometimes a questioning: “so …?”.

Of course this all depends on the sentence and context of the word.

“Shallah” is basically what you hear, but it’s definitely “InSha’Allah”, which means “God willing”, though it could also could be “MaSha’Allah”, which means “as God wishes”.

What you are hearing as “yarayaal” basically means “oh, man”.

Or if someone is trying to engage someone else to do something, he might say, “oh man, you really must do that”. So it becomes “yarayaal, you must eat now”.

Also it can be sort of a “wow” description, as in: “oh, wow, really man?”.

Finally, “taeel omork”. This is most likely “taweel al omor”, which means “the man who we wish to have a long life!”.

It’s said to anyone you show your respect to, for example, a sheikh. We refer to them all as his highness or we may also say “taweel al omor”, which is not a title but is a wish that has been used as a form of respect. It may also be used in the same way for elders and even strangers or visitors.

Taweel means “long”, while “al omor” means age. So it is used in this way: You meet your friend, manager, an elder or a sheikh, and you might say: “Oh dear (or, your highness) it is such an honor to meet you, taweel al omor.”

So now I can say to you: Taweel al omor, I hope that you understand these words better now.

Ali Al Saloom is a cultural adviser and public speaker from the UAE. Follow @AskAli on Twitter, and visit www.ask-ali.com to ask him a question.